Steviol glycosides are the sweeteners the food industry lists as E960. In our table they are low risk: they take 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: The Panel found insufficient justification to raise the steviol ADI of 4 mg/kg bw/day and concluded that the proposed extension of use and higher maximum permitted levels would result in an INCREASED exceedance of the ADI for TODDLERS at the 95th percentile (EFSA Journal 2024;22(11):9045, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9045 (PMC11533382))
- Flagged for young children. Set only where EFSA’s own exposure assessment shows toddlers or children exceeding or approaching the ADI, or where a regulator used explicitly child-specific language. For a child under 6 it moves up one class, to moderate risk.
- Where you meet it. They turn up in 28 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in soft drinks, ready meals and sauces. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA and the FDA, each one below.
What Steviol glycosides do to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Steviol glycosides take 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100), and a child under 6 sees them one class higher again. Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
-
EFSA
Journal 2024;22(11):9045, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9045 (PMC11533382)
The Panel found insufficient justification to raise the steviol ADI of 4 mg/kg bw/day and concluded that the proposed extension of use and higher maximum permitted levels would result in an INCREASED exceedance of the ADI for TODDLERS at the 95th percentile. -
EFSA
ANS Panel, revised exposure assessment of steviol glycosides (E 960), EFSA Journal 2014;12(5):3639 (efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3639); ADI of 4 mg/kg bw/day set in 2010
High-level (95th percentile) exposure exceeded the ADI for toddlers and children in four dietary surveys, with toddler high-consumer estimates around 4.3 mg/kg bw/day against the 4 mg/kg bw/day ADI — the age-group basis for higher-concern-for-young-children flag. -
FDA
GRAS Notice Inventory (high-purity steviol glycoside notices, e.g. GRN 000619, GRN 000745) and Import Alert 45-06
US status splits: high-purity steviol glycosides (>=95%) are covered by GRAS notices FDA has not objected to, while stevia leaf and crude extracts are not GRAS and are subject to import alert — the US status depends on which form the ingredient list names.
Why this class
A credible adverse or precautionary signal that stops short of every Moderate and High criterion: peer-reviewed adverse findings not yet reflected in regulatory status, an exposure exceedance confined to high-percentile or single-event estimates, or a precautionary regulatory step short of those criteria, a reduced ADI, a data limitation noted without an adverse conclusion, a narrowed or conditioned authorisation, or a child-focused assessment or school-food law that covers the additive as part of a class.
Our confidence in this row's classification is high. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Are Steviol glycosides (E960) safe for kids?
Low risk. In Sito it takes 6 points off the additive subscore (about 2 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, so for a child under 6 it moves up one class, to moderate risk: 15 points off the additive subscore. The finding we rely on: The Panel found insufficient justification to raise the steviol ADI of 4 mg/kg bw/day and concluded that the proposed extension of use and higher maximum permitted levels would result in an INCREASED exceedance of the ADI for TODDLERS at the 95th percentile (EFSA Journal 2024;22(11):9045, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9045 (PMC11533382)).
What is E960?
E960 is the E number for Steviol glycosides, which our table lists as a sweetener. Open Food Facts tags it en:e960.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E960 in our table, then the closest sweeteners by number.
- Isomalt (E953), moderate risk
- Saccharin and its salts (E954), moderate risk
- Sucralose (E955), low risk
- Neotame (E961), low risk
- Salt of aspartame-acesulfame (E962), moderate risk
- Maltitol (E965), moderate risk